Competition will cap cement firms' profits – Business Day

South African cement demand grew strongly between 2000 and 2007 and producers were highly profitable, returning significant cash to shareholders, says Ross Heyns, an analyst at Kagiso Asset Management. But since the 2007 market peak, volumes have fallen sharply and margins have come under pressure.  view article

FirstRand posts 20% increase in earnings – Business Report

FirstRand is the third of the big banks to report a hit from the controversial collapse of First Strut earlier this year. Notice of the exposure followed yesterday’s release of FirstRand’s results for the 12 months to June, which revealed a strong 20 percent hike in normalised earnings a share to R2.718.  view article

A lot riding on new investments – Moneyweb

Discovery Holdings may be one of the best performing shares on the JSE this year, having risen by 38%, but fickle shareholders were quick to punish the company when its trading update surprised to the negative.  view article

Factories build up steam – The New Age

The key indicator of activity in the manufacturing sector continued its momentum for the fourth straight month in August, suggesting production improvements since the wildcat strikes of 2012. view article

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